Chief of A's stadium plans may buy in

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, December 19, 2004

**FILE**Comedian Jon Stewart poses on the set of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" in New York, in this July 23, 2003, file photo. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg) JULY 23, 2003, FILE PHOTO

**FILE**Comedian Jon Stewart poses on the set of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" in New York, in this July 23, 2003, file photo. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg) JULY 23, 2003, FILE PHOTO

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(NYT34) SAN FRANCISCO -- October 23, 2003 -- CALIF-POLITICS-4 -- San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly makes a point during a supervisors meeting July 8, 2002, in San Francisco. As acting mayor Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2003, Daly secretly appointed and swore in two environmentalists to the city's Public Utilities Commission, then announced the appointments on official letterhead he had drawn up for the occasion. Mayor Willie Brown decided Thursday to cut short a trip to Asia to contend with the coup. (Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle) Photo caption <137,,>sfpuc25_PH2<252>1066780800<252>San Francisco Chronicle<252>(NYT34) SAN FRANCISCO -- October 23, 2003 -- CALIF-POLITICS-4 -- San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly makes a point during a supervisors meeting July 8, 2002, in San Francisco. As acting mayor Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2003, Daly secretly appointed and swore in two environmentalists to the city's Public Utilities Commission, then announced the appointments on official letterhead he had drawn up for the occasion. Mayor Willie Brown decided Thursday to cut short a trip to Asia to contend with the coup. (Michael Macor-San Francisco Chronicle)___XNYZ<137><252> S.F. Mayor Willie Brown Chris Daly has sponsored a bill to bar developers from razing buildings with more than 20 apartments. Chris Daly has sponsored a bill to bar developers from razing buildings with more than 20 apartments. Ran on: 06-19-2004
Mayor Gavin Newsom, left, and Supervisor Aaron Peskin, are seeking more housing for the homeless, low-income renters and middle-class residents. Ran on: 06-19-2004 Ran on: 10-22-2004
Supervisor Chris Daly was the author of Prop. N, which calls for an end to the Iraq occupation. CAT XNYZ less

(NYT34) SAN FRANCISCO -- October 23, 2003 -- CALIF-POLITICS-4 -- San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly makes a point during a supervisors meeting July 8, 2002, in San Francisco. As acting mayor Wednesday, Oct. ... more

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Chief of A's stadium plans may buy in

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There's hot talk that the Oakland A's are close to being sold to a group headed by Lewis Wolff, the megabucks Los Angeles developer whose possible emergence as a new owner was signaled last year when the team hired him to explore plans for a new stadium.

Wolff -- formerly a part owner of both the Golden State Warriors and St. Louis Blues hockey franchise -- isn't discounting the idea of taking over the A's, but says it's a bit early to tell how discussions will turn out.

"Hopefully, within 90 days we will be able to figure out what my role will be," he told us by phone Friday.

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"All I can tell you is, I have an option, which has been in the papers for some time, to purchase all or part of the team," Wolff said. "And I'm exploring it in detail because I'm very interested in the A's and think it's one of the best-run teams in baseball."

Of course, the option he's talking about -- at least as it was announced last year -- hinged on the A's coming up with a new stadium plan, something that's still a long, long way from happening.

But then, Wolff said that wasn't an issue anymore.

Since 1995, the A's have been owned 50-50 by home developers Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann. They bought the franchise at a discounted price far below the reported $85 million from Walter Haas -- the now-deceased patriarch of the San Francisco family that owns Levi Strauss -- with a pledge to keep the team in Oakland.

But the Schott-Hofmann pairing -- in which Schott served as the managing partner -- hasn't always gone smoothly, with the two often at odds over the team's direction.

The team is said to be worth $150 million to $170 million. It regularly turns a profit, largely because of the $12 million to $14 million it receives annually from baseball's revenue-sharing program, plus its next-to-nothing rent at the Coliseum.

Wolff confirmed he was negotiating to buy Hofmann's stake, but was less specific on where he stood in acquiring Schott's share.

However, one source following the moves predicted that Schott would be bowing out soon, or at least taking a back seat.

"Lew Wolff is going to be calling most of the shots now," said our source.

At the same time, Wolff confirmed that he is looking to bring on a number of partners, including John Fisher -- as in the son of Gap founder Donald Fisher. The younger Fisher is already a business partner with Wolff in a number of hotel and other real estate deals, including ownership of the San Francisco Fairmont.

The Fishers were among the local investors who stepped forward in 1992 to buy the San Francisco Giants when the team was on the verge of being sold to a Tampa Bay group and moved to Florida.

But the Fishers -- who remain prominent philanthropists in the Bay Area -- have since sold all but about 1 percent of their interest, according to baseball insiders.

As for what a possible change in ownership would mean for Oakland's chances of landing that long-shot stadium?

"We are working very closely with Lew Wolff and Steve Schott," De La Fuente said, "and we continue to be ready to try to look at the viability of building a new home for the A's."

Wolff and the city have narrowed their search to the parking lot north of the Coliseum, a stadium the A's share with the Oakland Raiders. The A's have said they would contribute $100 million toward construction of a baseball-only stadium, which could cost $400 million or more.

But there is speculation that the team might still have its eye on part of a 65-acre site near the Oakland estuary, between Oak Street and 10th Avenue. The land, which the Port of Oakland sold last year, is slated to be developed as housing.

And, just last week, the City Council of baseball-hungry San Jose agreed to try to buy the former Del Monte cannery west of downtown -- 11 acres said to be worth about $26 million -- with the idea that it could be a ballpark site.

It was Wolff, after all, who back in 1998 suggested the A's build a stadium in San Jose, quipping: "I wouldn't spend five minutes on any other city besides San Jose."

But then, as one government insider who has been watching all of the stadium moves, predicted, "We will be talking about this for years."

Bah humbug: "We can never express enough gratitude to those members of the armed forces who stand proudly, with great courage and sacrifice, defending our liberty at home and abroad," state Veterans Affairs chief Tom Johnson said in an e-mail to staffers the other day.

With that, Johnson invited state workers to join the example set by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, and buy phone cards for the troops overseas for the holidays.

The response, via intercepted e-mails that ricocheted on state computers all across California, was swift. Among them:

-- Worker No. 1: "The best way to support our troops is to bring them home immediately. This is a war based on lies and deceit."

-- Worker No. 2: "Verizon, Sprint, etc., who will be opening stores in these countries, should donate the cards or cells, since these troops are opening up new territory for their business."

-- Worker No. 3: "I think we get spammed enough by our superiors!"

Of course, there were also more charitable responses, such as:

-- Worker No. 4: "Why would you punish the soldiers and their families just because you're mad at Bush's decisions?"

But many of those weighing in just wanted everyone to knock off all the chatter:

Big ride: Congratulations to former Alameda County Supervisor Mary King, who -- after four years of toiling as a development consultant -- has landed a $131,000-a-year job as AC Transit's assistant general manager for communications and external affairs.

"As George Bush said about Condoleezza Rice, she would be the face of America to the world," King explained. "Well, I'll be the face of AC Transit. "

By the way, in addition to the pay, King has negotiated a number of benefits. No, she doesn't get a car, but she does get a free bus pass.

"I'm not all that comfortable with the nationals," said Daly, who has already turned down Fox News.

"But I would do the Jon Stewart show."

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